Dissonance in Corruption
by Barrel Maker
Summary: An unfamiliar soul enters Gensokyo as anomalous forces suppress the region's magical power. Completely alien to this place, he asks around for help as he searches for someone he can neither describe nor give reason for his search. Compelled by concerns for Gensokyo and an impulsive curiosity, some answer his request, stepping into the midst of an industrial awakening.
1. Prologue

It'd been an hour—at least from his perspective—since he left the mortal world. Funny, Cicero never really fancied himself a "mortal", but perhaps the wrong end of the knife gave him a change of heart. If only that was metaphorical. He wasn't sure exactly where he was headed, but he was certain the territory would not be the same. All he could see in front of him now was an endless plain of blank white, and all there was to hear was the numb tune of silence. The weightlessness of the realm didn't help either; he couldn't really move in any direction, though he could flay his body around and hope for something else to happen. A few flaps of the arms this way and a kick in the air the other way and he successfully made himself nauseous from the built up momentum. No, he wasn't going anywhere, he thought.

The rest of his body was too disinclined to even respond. His entire nervous system was barely numb, and he couldn't feel his previously racing heartbeat nor the contractions of his diaphragm. It felt to him as though he was what people called a "zombie", except without the dumb moaning or the desire to consume a peer's grey matter. He tried that once—the cerebellum was too chewy. There was really nothing he could do at the moment. Might as well just float here and await the inevitable, if there was actually something else to wait for.

Now was a good time to think, he concluded. He didn't get much time to just drown in his own thoughts. Now that all the war waging, neck breaking, figurative back stabbing, and literal back stabbing were away from him, he could just melt into sleep and dream while he had the chance. Death was surprisingly relaxing; he was half expecting some supernatural torment to ravage him for close to an eternity. The other expectation was waking up to the blade still stuck in his sternum. It appeared neither was going to happen, to his disappointment, but at least it was quiet for once.

It wasn't long before the silence ceased, however. A subtle pull enveloped his body, followed by the dull roar of a distant wind. The weightlessness was disappearing too, and he could feel his stomach begin to lurch forward.

"So much for a bit of R&R," he muttered to himself. The rest of his body jolted back to life, giving him a modest shock in the process. The dull roar of the wind had quickly escalated to an abrasive howl, and he felt his body picking up speed. The beating in his chest rose again, and he caught himself gasping for air that was travelling too fast for him to breathe in. The bleached white void was tearing away, apparently literally, to a dimmer sky of gray. The adrenaline of the fall swiftly prompted him to flail his arms again to try to grab anything to slow his rate of descent. Why did he even bother? He was looking up at an overcast sky. There wasn't anything he could even wrap his fingers around.

Before he could think of something better to do, he slammed against a surface, letting out a forced grunt before being immediately swallowed by a layer of water. His vision blurred as his descent ended, and he choked as a practical cup of water poured into his lungs. He quickly swam back to the surface and coughed for a minute or two. "Good lord," he attempted to say before he was beaned in the back of the head during the beginning of "lord". The force of the hit sunk him back into the water with another forced grunt, and he eyed the silhouette of a small boat above him. Once it passed, he resurfaced again with a second coughing fit before looking at the vessel.

It was no larger than a wooden dingy, and appeared to be carrying two people on it. One donned red hair and a scythe; the other was a sullen looking man with a beer belly, and unlike the red-head, looked completely unimportant. There was, however, an unusual group of bulb-like objects floating around him, each with a small "tail" that whipped upward like a candle's flame.

Cicero kept them in mind before turning around to inspect the rest of his environment. The body of water he was in appeared to be a river, if not a canal. One shore was populated by clusters of other sullen men and women; he caught a glimpse of a few children too, most of which bore expressions leaning towards confusion rather than depression. The other side, where the boat was headed, was empty, save for a large field of flowers. The shore with the crowd was much closer to him, he noted. He'd have to catch a different ride if he wanted to check the flower end. He craned his head up in the air. The sky was gray, but oddly looked like it was the actual sky rather than a layer of clouds. The whole place was also surrounded by a distant fog, and a quick examination of the water showed it was opaque, but with more of a glassy sheen than just sedimentary pollution.

"What a strange—" he attempted to comment, but was cut short by another blunt hit to the back of the head, forcing another sink and resurface. "Son of a gun!" he shouted after clearing the water from his trachea. He saw the boat again, this time stopping in front of him rather than continuing. It was the same red head, this time travelling alone. How did she get back so fast? She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"How the heck are you floating right now?" she asked, sounding like she doesn't normally stumble on someone in a river.

"Um, buoyancy?" Cicero responded confusedly, still attempting to process her quick return. Maybe she killed the last guy and dumped him in the river. Perhaps it wasn't a smart idea going with her, but she'd already offered her hand by the time he snapped out of his trance. She hoisted him into the boat and turned back around to the shore loaded with flowers. Behind him, he could hear the dull groaning of everyone else. Apparently they all wanted a ride too.

"Right… So where'd you get those weird clothes?" she asked immediately as the boat seemingly moved itself without any physical interference.

"Eh?" Cicero answered; he'd caught himself poking at a similar group of bulbs that'd begun floating around him. He glanced down at his soaking wet attire; it was still his gray military officer's coat and boots. He even managed to keep his cap after the fall. All that was different was that there was no gash in his chest. She stared at him, resting the scythe on her shoulder and waited for an answer. At the same time, he eyed her blue and white dress, which completely deviated from any design he'd ever seen, save for in a few books. He also noted the pigtails her hair was tied into and the pinkish hue he hadn't noticed at a distance. On a side note, her bust was just as worthy of admiration.

"Well, where'd you get _those?_" he asked awkwardly. A long, uncomfortable silence rose between them before she replied.

"I guess everyone has their own tastes," she said, ignoring his question. "So, where're you from, pal? The village? The mountain?"

"Does the place 'Archaea' ring a bell?" Cicero answered.

"Hmm? Nope. What's it like?" She traced her eyes around the horizon. It appeared she liked making small talk with her passengers.

"It's… really far from here I imagine," he muttered. "Actually, could you do me a favor and tell me where I am?"

"Well, you're dead, so this is the Sanzu River. We're going to Higan so you can get your judgment. What, haven't you died before?"

Cicero raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Ooh, you must be an outsider. Wow, you're the second we've had in like, a century."

"I beg pardon?" Cicero asked. He was a bit surprised that a human could last for a century. Then again, it would be extremely foolish to conclude that anybody here was even human. He glanced for a moment behind him. They'd gained some distanced from the crowded shore, but it didn't look like they'd moved an inch closer to the other side. Perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"We usually don't get outsiders at Higan. Most of them just leave before they could die. Speaking of which, how _did_ you die?"

"I was stabbed," he said, leaving out the unnecessary details.

"Huh. Well I won't ask why. People don't usually like when I ask the story behind it. But there was one guy I met who told me he cleaved his entire family with a butcher's knife and strung their entrails all around his house because he couldn't pay a guy he lost a bet to. He was a bit of a loon."

"A bit of a loon…" Cicero repeated, with a bit of a smile on his face. Maybe this place was just as insane as home.

"Speaking of pay, can you hand me your coins?" she asked him, holding out her hand.

"Coins?"

"Yeah, they're for the toll. You gotta pay to ride this thing."

Cicero fiddled through his pockets, which were all empty save for one that managed to catch a small fish. He shrugged and smiled awkwardly at her after looking. What more could he do?

"Dammit, outsiders must be chronically broke. It's gonna take me another fifty years before I can buy a better boat than this piece of crap." she whined with a look of agitation on her face. "Oh well, you're more trouble taking back at this point. We're here." Cicero jumped as he noticed they were already at the shore. Just a moment ago he could've sworn they were in the same place.

"Alright then…" he muttered to himself before addressing the girl, "Thank you miss, uh…"

"My name's Komachi. Remember it because you owe me next time you die. Just follow the path. The Yama will get to you once it's your turn," she commented, then shoved off again.

Cicero nodded to her before walking along the tiny beaten path ahead of him. The amount of flowers in this place was staggering. Posies filled the landscape up to the horizon. All he could think was that whoever planted them had too much time on his hands. He made his way for a good twenty minutes until he reached a long line of more sullen men and women. In front of him was the man with the beer belly that Komachi had brought over. The line extended almost as far as the flowers, and he couldn't see the end of it. "How inefficient," he thought to himself. The line slowly filled up behind him, and he inched forward every couple minutes. He kept to himself, since nobody else looked interesting enough to talk to, and nobody conversed anyways.

There was enough time for him to contemplate exactly where he was. Higan didn't ring a bell in his head, and if he was still back home, it should have. Perhaps Death took him somewhere different. He couldn't help but think that the eggheads before used to talk about something like this happening. He shrugged the thought off and continued waiting.

There was enough time for him to analyze every different looking flower he could find near the path and try to figure out what it was before he made any progress. The time extended into the hours, and seemingly into days as he moved. What a maddening wait it was. The guy in front of him never shut up complaining about not getting another drink. At least he couldn't die twice, otherwise he might find himself stuck in a cycle of falling into the same cycle after withering away.

After over a week of arduous standing, a small house began to peek over the horizon; he estimated it would be another week before he could inch forward enough to see it up close. The house was strangely designed, but had a similar feel to Komachi's attire. All of it screamed a sort of "Feudal Era" kind of design. His Old World memory failed to tell him what kind of country this place resembled though. A few hours later he reached a sign spelled in a different language. Oddly enough he could understand it. On it said:

_Ministry of Right and Wrong._

_Presiding Yama: Eiki Shiki_

He would have said it was odd, but everything else was already so anomalous that he'd grown used to the strangeness. Another grueling day passed, and he was finally second from the door. The man in front of him was called to enter by an exasperated girl's voice. She sounded young for a judge, assuming this was where he would receive his judgment, but ultimately Cicero no longer cared. He was close enough to listen to the talking inside, just barely. It started off with the girl, presumably the "Yama", speaking to the man for a few minutes in a lighter tone, followed by a short period of him groveling to her for mercy on the sins he'd committed. The next four hours were spent listening to her detailing and criticizing virtually every problem of his life before she proceeded to beat him senseless with some object.

"Now to hell with you!" she shouted. Cicero could hear him continue to grovel before a loud whooshing sound silenced him. "Next!" the girl shouted, sounding more exasperated then before.

The white wooden doors slid open, and he walked in. The interior was surprisingly large, the ceiling extending upward another two stories and the walls twice as wide as he'd visualized outside. In front of him sat a young looking girl with dark green hair, and a blue dress with a black skirt. On her head was a blue crown and white crown with a golden emblem. Most of her hair extended to her neck, but a portion of it extended to her shoulder. Her seat appeared to be a kind of symbolic scale to indicate a balance of good and evil, one end of the scale holding a white skull, and the other holding a black skull with the seat itself composed of gold. Clearly she held more authority than Komachi.

"I wonder if my life would have been easier staying a statue…" she muttered to herself, rubbing her temples before she looks at Cicero. "You'll have to forgive me. It's been a long day," she said in a more composed tone.

"You don't say?!" he shouted with a condescending smile.

She ignored his outburst, running her eyesight up and down his figure. "Why do you wear that outfit?" she asked in puzzlement.

"Why do you wear that _hat?_" Cicero retorted. He was already getting tired of being asked about the uniform. Maybe it would have been wiser not to test her if she could really send him to hell, but he wasn't really one to take the sensible path. They shared a familiar awkward silence, staring at each other blankly for a few minutes.

She let out a tired sigh. "Nevermind. Let's just get through with this." She straightened up her tone to sound more formal. "Departed soul, you will be evaluated on the transgressions committed in your past life. Every portion of your existence will fall under my judgment, which shall determine the fate of your sentence." She held up a small crystal mirror in front of his face, the reflection facing directly at him. The image morphed, showing images from the beginning of his life, rapidly flashing different scenes in front of him before eventually leading to his ultimate demise. Cicero glanced at the Yama; her expression grew more perplexed as the images continued. As the show ended, Cicero could remember a number of regrettable moments in the past. Suddenly his chances of reaching a favorable sentence seemed less than ideal.

"You're another outsider," she said flatly, "Almost like the last one that showed up: a mixed bag of candy and spiders."

"Uh, is that good?" he asked with a confused smile. She quickly sat up from her throne and walked over to him, holding a polygonal piece of wood; Marked all over it were writings that seemed to change as she approached him. She stood just a couple feet away from him, and he could easily see that she was a foot shorter than him. But before Cicero could react, the Yama belted him in the face, four times a cross and once downwards. So that's what the last unfortunate fool was screaming about. "Well. Ouch." He grumbled, rubbing his face.

"I'm going to sum up the lecture," she spoke less formally, and stuck her face uncomfortably close to his. "You're not the worst thing I've ever seen, but you better shape up. I suggest this time around you rip out a few less spines." She returned to her chair, and raised the piece of wood in her hand. "I, Eiki Shiki, the Yama of Gensokyo and the Supreme Judge of Paradise, sentence this soul to human reincarnation in the Underworld. Good luck." The last part didn't ring as well as he'd hoped. The room was silent as she put her hand back down and relaxed in her chair.

"Well, wasn't that flashy? So, what now?" he asked, scratching his head. He'd half expected something to glow at this point. But before anything else had a chance to occur, an eerie oblong hole gaped open beneath him. The Yama grimaced as he fell, but took no action to help him.

Cicero slipped through, his body passing through a thin film dividing one dimension from the other. A distinct chill travelled up his spine as he entered another world of weightlessness. But unlike his state in the blankness of time and space, he retained his faculties. The sight was unsettling, as the only entities in sight were a plethora of disembodied eyes scrutinizing him from within an ethereal magenta background. They shifted erratically around their space as he looked around, as if disconnected from regular perception. He partially enjoyed this detail.

Each eye possessed an empty black cornea indistinct from the others; their shapes were narrower than the eyes of the people he'd seen. The "floor" beneath him was merely a layer of larger variants, some of which gave of spectral glows from their corneas, frequently changing colors. There was little else to see, however, as another oblong gap expanded behind him. An external gravitational pull dragged him towards it, pulling him through the film and shooting another chill through his back. As gravity reoriented, he had little time to right himself, falling this time on his head. He struck stone rather than water, which was enough to send him into a momentary blackout.

…

It wasn't long before he came to. His back was cold, the surface feeling smooth but uneven. He opened his eyes, waiting for his vision to come into focus. His entire body was sore, especially his head, and he could feel a faint beating in his chest. His heart was coming back to life; perhaps that meant the Yama truly did reincarnate him. An empty black sky was all he could see at the moment, but as his sight regained its clarity, something approached him from the right. He shifted his eyes to see who it was, but the sight of her made his fresh-pumping blood run cold.

A girl with silver-white hair walked up next to him, staring down at him with cold, monotonous eyes. His killer had matched this description, and though logic would have dictated she could be nowhere close, his only though was how _she_ could have followed him here. Her looks combined with the sheathed blade she rested her hand on threw him into a transient silent panic. He eased up, however, after getting a better look at her face. Her expression was much softer than the furious glare his former opponent once gave him. This one appeared more focused, analytical, and above all, calm. Her attired differed as well, being a simple green dress with a white blouse beneath, rather than an all-white cloak. She kept her sight locked onto him for a moment before looking forward.

"He is awake, milady," she stated in a formal, almost subservient tone. Cicero sat up from the ground, rubbing the back of his head; his entire skull throbbed with a subtle ache. This at least confirmed for him that he could still feel pain above a light thrashing. He got off from the ground and himself within the premises of a small house similar in design to that of the Yama's, though still fairly larger. He was in the middle of a modest Zen garden, which happened to bear a handful of boulders in the area. Next to him was a displaced trail amongst the neatly combed rocks, leading from Cicero to a nearby boulder. He could only guess where he'd landed. In front of him sat two young women along the wooden walkway of the house.

"Ah, so he is," stated one. She sounded older, speaking softly, but with greater authority. She looked at me with a relaxed expression, her eyes possessing a unique maroon hue. Her hair was pink—more so than Komachi's—and covered under a mob cap colored in light blue with a white accent. Printed on the front also appeared to be a strange, nearly spiraled symbol in red. Her dress donned similar white and blue colors. With all of this, an unusual set of softly glowing entities floated around her in stationary positions. She extended her hand and motioned for him to approach them.

He did so reluctantly, eyeing the other woman on the left. Her blond hair was much longer, extending to her back. Her violet eyes gazed directly towards him, appearing to be sizing him up. Her dress and cap also donned similar shades of purple. Her expression was one of sophisticated silence—Cicero could tell she was analyzing him in every way possible. But it wasn't her appearance that intimidated him; rather it was what she was sitting on. Instead of perching herself on the walkway like the first one, she floated just slightly higher up, resting on what appeared to be the same kind of gap he fell through. This, combined with the equally unsettling feeling she gave off, made him almost certain she was responsible for bringing him here.

"This is the so-called 'abnormality' you requested me to fetch, yes?" the blonde woman asked. Her tone suggested they were long-time friends.

"Mmm, the nature of his being seems… familiar," the woman in blue responded, hiding part of her face with a fan, "The river even refused to take him."

"I take it you can explain where I am," Cicero cut in, "Everything's been happening sort of suddenly."

The blonde turned her head towards him, keeping her pink parasol rested on her shoulder. She scanned over him once more before looking back at her companion. "If you could excuse us for a moment…" she said.

"Go ahead. I'm still awaiting the dumplings I asked for," she answered with a smile.

In an instant, the blond woman slipped through her portal with another one engulfing Cicero. He found himself in the world of eyes again, this time with the woman next to him. They were already gravitating towards another opening.

"Sooo, I imagine you are an individual with power," Cicero stated. He might as well try to learn who was above whom, or at least who was more worth killing if he needed to.

"One could say that," she responded. The dimension seemed to give off a low grumble as they spoke.

"Could I ask for your name?" he asked.

"I'm afraid that information would not be useful in your hands." She kept her sight locked at the other opening, which slowed its approach over the course of their conversation.

"Okay, _what_ are you then?" he had to get something out of her, ideally how she could create these openings with apparent ease.

"A simple Gap Youkai, you could say."

"Youkai?"

"Demons, apparitions, whatever you might address them as. A youkai possesses supernatural powers."

"Supernatural. I've seen enough garbage claimed to be beyond explanation," Cicero crossed his arms, "Each was no more than a hoax. Everything can be explained by science I assure you."

"Perhaps," she responded, "but if so, tell me the scientific explanation to your uniform. You sound far from anything like a military captain."

"I'm surprised nobody's just asked why I'm a black guy," he retorted, "but fine. Maybe something will surprise me."

"Hmph," she gave with a smile. The gap in front of them expanded throughout the whole dimension, replacing the magenta background with a blue, cloud-filled sky. It'd been too long since Cicero saw a regular sky, which prompted a subtle sigh of satisfaction. "Gensokyo," the youkai stated flatly.

"Bless you," he snapped out of his gaze. Simultaneously, he found himself standing on a gap of his own.

"A theater of magic and illusion. Home to entities living across the spectrum of good and evil. _Your_ new home."

_"Mine," _he said half-sarcastically. He looked over the plethora of forests and the mountain that ruled over them. Despite its height, they stood far above it. He could see mansions and villages scattered throughout the land, some defying the visual themes he'd grown use to already. "So this is my new prison?"

"For the most part," she said, sinking back through her gap. Involuntarily, he followed through his own. They traveled back to the house and garden. She rested herself next to her companion as Cicero fell back onto the garden, this time away from the boulders. Cicero groaned from the subtle pain he received from the landing before looking up next to him. The same silver-haired girl stood next to him, holding a small wooden rake. She gave off a tired sigh and walked off as he stood up. He looked around and found he'd made another imprint in the garden.

"Oops?" he muttered under his breath then turned to the youkai. "What's your interest in me anyways? You're showing me all of this for a reason," he questioned.

She said nothing as another gap expanded in front of him.

A brief sigh left him as he put on a relaxed smile. "It's not like I was planning to take a break or anything… Alright then, what would you have this poor soul do?" He took a subtle bow, to which her eyes narrowed.

_**[Author's Note] TL;DR This section provides various bits of trivia and other miscellaneous information. There are no spoilers. I will note right now that there is no solid update schedule for DC, though I promise to update at LEAST once every two weeks. I'm in college and I'm about to get a job, so time management's going to get a bit hectic.**_

**_The character Cicero is a spiritual successor to the character Hayato, who was the main character of DC1. The differences lie in their attire and personality, but they generally look the same, with Cicero looking slightly older. Of course now I will openly admit that Cicero is a fictitious personification of me, bearing a personality that I heavily enjoy._**

**_"Archaea" is the name of the planet Cicero originates from, and is the setting for my book of the same name which whill likely not reach the public for another ten years. Ergo, Archaea itself does not really matter in the plot._**

**_How Cicero reached Gensokyo at all will be explained much later in this fiction._**

**_Even though fan fictions are direct violations of canon in their very existence, I feel obligated to state that I will not heavily follow canon in the story. I will attempt to maintain Gensokyo the way I perceive it, that is, until the plot begins to change its form._**

**_I will accept constructive criticism based on the plot and some aspects of the story's style, provided it's actually constructive. However, I will not adhere to criticisms revolving to my writing style as it is a thing I am actively developing, and is something I wish to develop on my own._**

**_Trivia sections like these will only appear once in a while. My life isn't amazing._**

**_ [End Author's Note]_**

_**[Development History] TL;DR Simply put, this piece is a revival of an old fiction of the same name that I'd created in 2012. This section only provides trivial information on the developmental history of the story. No plot information is included.**_

_**It was around the summer of 2012 when I discovered the Touhou franchise by chance when exploring Youtube. Thankfully that discovery was not linked to Ronald McDonald. After looking further into the franchise, I was immediately impressed by the fact that one man was capable of creating this much imaginative material, keeping in mind that I'd yet to see anyone else do such a thing given the sheltered nature of my childhood. My admiration for both ZUN and Touhou Project quickly grew, eventually leading up to the desire to develop my own fan fiction in late July of the same year. In August, development had reached its peak rate, generating 94 Microsoft Word pages (Century font at size 11 with 1.15 spacing) by early September. This fiction came to be titled "Dissonant Corruption". It was near the end of that time that I began to realize that DC was burdened with an enormous mountain of flaws that'd built up from my extremely inexperienced mind and unintentional neglect of quality control. Writing soon stopped after that, leaving the entire piece stuck at a cliffhanger, never to be finished.**_

_**Over the span of two years I concentrated heavily on the aspect of originality and creating a world of my own to interact with, which has come to be known as Archaea. Development has been running well since it began, though now it is on the back burner. I'd decided my ability to simply create images and environments had reached an acceptable leve, and now it was time to return to polishing my writing abilities, which were (and are) still sorely in need of improvement. In order to improve my writing, I've decided to complete two separate projects before I begin work on my own literature. One is "Dissonance in Corruption," this story, which is a revival and complete remake of "Dissonant Corruption" (The old DC, which I will refer to in DC1 in later notes, will likely be removed from fan fiction so that there is no confusion as to which is the improved version. The other project will have to await revelation until I can keep a steady pace in "Dissonance in Corruption" (Now to be abbreviated to DCR) and can stabilize ideas in the second project, however I guarantee that it is a different fan fiction not related to Touhou. This is only a basic rundown of what's happened between 2012 and 2014 on my end. I may add more over time, but I'll have to see. My god, did you actually read all this?**_


	2. Chapter 1: Cicero

**Part 1**

A unique coldness permeated the Underworld. The oni in the city tapped off thin layers of frost accumulating on their shoulders from the gentle snowfall that had begun in the early morning. Some took part in sparring to keep their bodies heated, while others diluted their nerves in waves of sake. The usual morning bustle of Former Hell's markets replaced itself with indoor commotion and laughter, leaving the frost covered streets to bear but a few wandering pedestrians. On the clay shingled rooftops of the buildings ran a trail of footsteps coming from a lone youkai.

The younger of the Komeiji sisters pranced her way across the city, enjoying the limited scenery the street torches could provide. Koishi didn't mind, or perhaps remained totally oblivious of the cold as she donned her typical thin yellow blouse and green skirt. Her black and yellow cap, resilient in remaining on her head during her flights, had also netted a thin layer of frost over time. She jumped from roof to roof in relative silence, letting out a subtle hum every once in a while.

Something caught her eye as she leaped over a small alley. She stopped midair in her jump, floating above the alley as she looked down. An unusual rift decorated with eyes and ribbons opened up near the ground, releasing a series of low grumbles and whispers, clear to her hearing before letting out a more obscure grunt from beneath it. Koishi looked on with increased curiosity, staring at the opening until it gradually sealed itself and phased out of existence. The product left from the occurrence was a body lying face down on the alley's snow-covered stone path. She floated down to it slowly, staring at it questioningly.

Koishi landed next to it, analyzing every detail she could find; she had nothing better to do anyways. The structure was skinny, but too broad at the shoulders to be a woman. He must be a young man. The only part of his skin she could see in his position was his neck, which was unusually dark—a light shade of brown. The rest of his body was covered by a gray uniform, complete with a pair of shiny black boots. She turned him over, which was easier than expected. His cap interested her the most; it looked like a hat men used to wear in times of war. Looking again, she noticed that the rest of his outfit appeared to be suitable for a commander. After eyeing the uniform again, she took off his cap, revealing a head of short-cut black hair. She replaced his hat with hers and giggled for a moment at the sight of it before putting on his cap. She quickly participated in acting out stiff military marches and salutes to herself.

As Koishi played around, the man on the ground came to, groaning and rubbing his head as he sat up. The top of his head felt different, and he looked up, spotting a much longer rim than he was used to. He took off his hat and examined it, coming to the conclusion that it wasn't his hat. He looked around him, seeing only a few empty crates and barrels in the dark corner of a dead end before turning around. Behind him was a strange girl with his hat. He got up from the ground, wiping off the snow from the front of his body, and tiptoed up to her. She was about to pose another stiff-armed salute when he tapped the top of her head, which caused her to freeze in place for a moment.

"Pardon me!" he uttered suddenly. Koishi leaped forward a bit and started floating low from the ground, curling her body up and rotating backwards. The hat fell off of her as she was upside down. Her eyes were shut for a moment, and she held her arms up to her face. Eventually she opened her eyes back up and looked back at him. They shared an awkward silence for a moment as she continued to float upside down. "I believe that's my hat," the man continued, pointing at the hat on the ground.

"It is," Koishi replied with a smile, "I found it on you."

"Is that so?" he asked as he picked it up. He held out the other one towards her. "Does this happen to be yours, then?"

"Mhmm!" she said, grabbing it and putting it back on her head. Surprisingly, it managed to stay.

"Why… did you take it?" he asked awkwardly.

Koishi floated back down and landed on her feet. "I thought you were dead!" she said excitedly.

"Dead? Oh don't tell me I'm still dead," he muttered to himself.

"Since you were dead, or since I thought you were dead, I borrowed your hat so that I could play with it. I let you borrow mine though, so it was fair, right?" Her expression indicated a genuine playfulness.

"You have a very interesting train of thought," he replied with a wide grin. Another silence arose before he spoke up again. "This doesn't happen to be the Underworld, does it?"

"Yeah it is! I live down here with my sister in the palace!" she started floating above him again.

"Wait a second," he muttered, then looked up. In the undulating lights of the torches he could see snowfall, while the sky remained pitch dark, devoid of stars. "Is the Underworld underground?" he raised an eyebrow.

She nodded silently.

"It's snowing. Underground." He crossed his arms and paced back and forth in the alley before returning to Koishi. "You know, I really thought it'd be a lot… hotter down here."

"It is!" Koishi replied, "It's just snowing right now!"

"Huh," a perplexed expression grew on his face. "Well, I've seen bigger violations of science." He walked out towards the street, analyzing the scenery. Only torches appeared to be lighting the block. He looked to his right, spotting a set of relatively massive spires jutting from the ground, yielding sequences of lighting and windows along its exterior. It was a small castle of some kind, set somewhat inappropriately in the city's center, "Did you say you live in a palace?" he asked Koishi, to which she nodded, "You're royalty?"

"Hmm? Not really. At least I don't think so. I mean, we live in a palace, but… my sister doesn't really manage anything outside," she answered.

"Hmm," the man returned to pacing in the alley. It was a good ten minutes before he shifted once more to Koishi. "Right, so…" he started, "I'm looking for someone. Could you help me?"

"Yeah!" she answered enthusiastically.

"Well, that was easy."

"What does she look like?" Koishi asked.

"I can't tell you."

She tilted her head. "Why not?"

"Because it's a secret!~" he answered whimsically.

"Oh, okay! Where's she from?"

"Can't tell you that either."

"What? How come?" her face grew puzzled.

"Cuz that's a secret too!~" he answered just as whimsically.

"Mmph, she's going to be really hard to find," she pouted.

"Don't worry!" he shouted with exaggerated bravado, "Once I catch onto her trail, she's as good as found! Wait, how'd you know I was looking for a girl?"

"I didn't. But most of the strong youkai are girls," she answered.

"That explains a lot…" he muttered.

"Oh, I know!" Koishi interjected, "Maybe my sister can help you. She can still read minds!"

"_Still?_" he questioned before she grabbed hold of his arm.

"Come on!" she said as she started flying down the street, pulling him with her.

"Hey now!" he uttered as he was flung forward. She failed to notice for a while that he wasn't floating alongside her; they sped past pedestrians as he attempted to swing his body left and right to dodge any who were unfortunate enough to be in his path. Koishi's blissful humming returned, accompanied by the series of expletives released from the man as he continued to avoid collisions with uncomfortably solid objects. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…_wait damn you!,_" he barked over the wind.

It got her attention, prompting the question "What?" as she stopped abruptly where she was. The suddenness allowed enough force to loosen their grips and send the man sliding across a meter of pavement. He got up with several pained groans, rubbing the back of his head in the process.

"I keep falling like this and I'm going to wake up asking '_who am I?' _and '_are my parents dead?'_" he grumbled under his breath. After continuing on his subtle tirade for three more minutes, he trudged his way to Koishi. "Deepest regrets for not telling you this earlier, but, I can't quite fly. Or float. Or propel myself in any other fashion that doesn't involve locomotive use of my feet."

"Oh. Then, I'll carry you!" she exclaimed, grabbing him by his arms again.

"Whoa, no, no, no, no, no, that won't be necessary! Let's just walk!" he responded quickly.

"Why?" she tilted her head again.

"So that… we can talk?" he answered slowly.

"Okay!" Koishi exclaimed before floating down next to him. The two of them strolled down the road to the middle of Former Hell, one half-skipping along, waving her arms about, with the other keeping a steady pace, hands folded behind his back. She'd carried him quite far, appearing twice as close as it was before. The Underworld settled back into quietness, with only the ambience of the interior frivolity to accompany them in their walk. The snow, having been but a thin sheet of flakes earlier, had grown into a fluffy coverlet on the ground, which Koishi blissfully plowed her boots through. The man kept silent, scanning about his surroundings. Intrigue grew on his face as he analyzed the architecture of the city as well as the silhouettes of the horned citizens standing next to the windows.

"So, what's your name?" the man asked, sounding only half as cordial as the way he walked. Koishi turned around and began to walk backwards, having skipped slightly ahead of him.

"I can't tell you," she replied quietly, smiling at him.

"And why is that?"

"Because it's a secret!~" she answered, mimicking the tone of his earlier response.

"Really now," he asked with half closed eyelids.

"No, It's Koishi," she giggled before stopping in the road. The man stopped next to her, waiting for a follow-up statement. They remained there for a minute, staring blankly at each other without so much as a hiccup.

"What? I haven't killed anyone yet." the man stated.

"When are you going to tell me yours?" Koishi asked flatly, "Is that a secret too?"

"Hmm? Oh. Right. Actually, I'm not sure," he reacted pensively, "I wasn't told if I could say my name… Well, lack of clarity breeds implied permission. My name is Cicero."

"You sound really calm now," Koishi spoke quietly.

Cicero knocked a layer of snow off his hat. "Do I? You sound calmer than me right now. Perhaps both of us just like to take a break from the insanity every once in a while."

"Insanity?"

"Idunno. Noise, maybe? It's been a bit hectic since I got here. You know, like, culture shock I suppose. Plus, I usually don't get conversations like these." They continued their walk as he began to elaborate. "Most of the time my talks are short. Maybe people didn't take interest in me back home. "'Good day, sir,' I would say to someone. They take one good look at me, and before I know it, they're shrieking 'Oh god no!' screaming about someone to save them or something. 'The heck did I do?' I'll ask sometimes. Other times, well, I guess I just break their necks. They're not willing to talk after that. Tell me, should I work on my people skills?"

Koishi stopped walking and heel turned towards him with a smile. "You're a maniac."

"Why, thank you!" Cicero responded gleefully.

"No, seriously. You have problems," she asserted, retaining her smile and happy tone.

"Why… thank you?" He repeated more apprehensively. They continued their stroll in silence, maintaining a reduced amount of eye contact with each other. The humble wooden buildings of earlier districts had given away to more pristine structures mixed with smooth stone. Passersby who'd also gained sophistication in their attire, despite their unwaveringly rowdy nature, exchanged glances with each other, staring at the odd pair making their way to the palace. They were but a block away from the palace's perimeter when the silence was broken. "What possessed you to help me anyways?"

"You looked really fun!" Koishi exclaimed with her old enthusiasm.

"And that warranted you to bring me to your domicile even after you were made aware of the possibility that I am subject to a potentially dangerous mental illness that could bring harm to you and your loved ones?" Cicero asked with a generous dose of sarcasm.

She nodded excitedly.

"…Are you sure _I'm_ a maniac?"

Over the time that they'd conversed, the snowfall had lightened, leaving a shimmering glow above the city barely illuminating the distant ceiling encasing the cavern, faintly revealing the tips of stalactites previously hidden away by the lack of ambient lighting. Reaching out far from the city's base stood the spires of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, a domain visited on occasion by the local populace to bask in the lush gardens of subterranean flora that grew within the courtyard. Beyond the black iron fence stood walls of precisely cut stone, bearing rows of shining stained glass depicting the image of a dark colored bird. Perhaps a crow or a raven, Cicero speculated. The lights inhabiting the property were comprised of softer shining gas lamps, which glowed slightly dimmer than the city's torches; they gave a sort of serene feeling in the midst of the city, despite the palace's vast area. Stone brick paths accompanied by small pools of water lead towards the large wooden doors at the front of the palace.

Koishi approached the iron gates resting at the end of the road with Cicero following closely behind. A thin mist lurked near the ground, enshrouding their ankles in a highly translucent layer of vapor. He caught glimpses of cats wandering about as Koishi pushed through the entrance; some appeared to possess more than one tail, though the poor lighting was likely playing tricks on his vision. They stared at him pensively as he followed Koishi, pupils fixed onto him with subtle green glows. Cicero raised an eyebrow at them and continued forward. The pair passed the half-frozen pools of water and stopped just short of the wide steps leading to the interior.

"Is this the part where I ask if I may come inside?" Cicero asked complacently. "Oh?" he added as he was caught off guard by her sudden movement. Koishi quickly dug her face into his chest, wrapping her short arms around his waist. Cicero stood frozen for a moment, unsure of how to react. "This isn't what I meant," he spoke up. She kept her hold on him for another minute. "What are you trying to do right now? This is not how a suplex works."

"Iff uh huh yuuu fuuuh iieiuuu!" Koishi muffled through his coat.

"I beg pardon?" he asked.

She took her face out from his chest and looked at him. "I said it's a hug you funny idiot!"

"I'd made that conclusion. I wish to know _why_ you've chosen this action." Cicero grimaced.

"Well…" she trailed off.

"Yes, yes? You're almost there," he encouraged.

"You haven't said anything about my third eye yet. And that made me happy," she answered softly.

"Oh, that. Well shoot, I've seen worse. Um… What did you expect?" Cicero scratched his head.

She didn't answer, but laid her head next to his chest again, her greenish white hair resting at his tie. He stood there uncomfortably, unsure of whether to respond with a hug back or to just let it happen. Eventually he put his arms around her, though looking around the area apprehensively. He spotted a series of cats that were looking at him nearby. He pulled a crooked, confused grin at them as he held her. After another minute, she released her hold, gazing at him with dark emerald eyes.

She was about to speak again when Cicero put his finger over her mouth before interjecting. "Can we go inside first?!"


	3. Chapter 2: A Simple Skirmish

Koishi pranced in as she pushed open the ten foot doors leading into the foyer. Cicero lagged behind for a moment, taking off one of his leather gloves and running his fingers along the wooden texture. He examined it thoroughly, expressing as much enthrallment as a man could for a door.

"Is this mahogany?" Cicero called to Koishi, who was happily dancing around in the foyer's checker-tiled floor.

"Idunno!" she answered back, waiting for him to bother to actually come inside.

The architecture also didn't fail to catch his eye. The entrance was less a foyer as it was a grand hall of sorts. Through the vast corridor stretching far into the distance were rows of chandeliers on its arched ceiling, each holding scores of candles in its frame. They illuminated the upper half of the structure as a series of stained glass panels—each bearing the familiar raven symbol from outside, glowed softly on the palace's black and white floor tiles. Staircases lined the sides of the hall, spiraling upward to the fourth floor, the steps lined with red carpet.

Cicero peeked outside briefly, eyeing the size of the exterior and compared it to the interior. While the outside bore a modest size, the inside was extravagantly large, extending hundreds of feet in its volume. At the end of the hall stood another stained glass image of the raven above a large doorway, preceded by a medium stairway. "So. This is your home," Cicero commented.

Koishi nodded. "This is where we stay with all our pets!"

"You mean all of those cats?" Cicero asked, pointing his thumb back to the door.

"No, those are my sister's," Koishi responded, "Those are mine over there." She pointed over to another series of cats accompanied by a small cluster of ravens perched at a staircase, appearing nearly identical to the ones outside. He raised an eyebrow at them, to which they tilted their heads in unison.

One approached Cicero's leg, staring up curiously at him with glowing red eyes. "Good day," he greeted, lifting up a hand. This one also tilted its head, but seemed to grimace while doing so before quickly running up a staircase. "Do I offend?" he asked himself.

He turned his attention to Koishi, who'd knelt down to pet a series of cats that had surrounded her. "This is a nice place," he remarked.

"Mhmm!" Koishi responded. She soon started giggling as her cats played around her.

"And you're sure you're not royalty," he reaffirmed.

"An aristocracy, actually," a gentle voiced echoed behind them. The two turned around to the far side of the hall. A short, cerise haired girl approached them, floating slowly in midair. Her sight was fixed on Cicero, expression remaining utterly calm. Something was off, however; despite her meek face, her purple eyes gave off an icy glower. He observed the extra eye floating near her chest, wired to her head and wrists with vein-like chords. It watched him sporadically, jittering its sight all over his body, as if searching for something. The whole sight interested him, to say the least.

"Sister!" Koishi gasped with a smile. She floated up and met her, the two sharing a quick hug. The girl glanced at Koishi with a softer look before staring back at Cicero. Her attire was inverted compared to his companion, donning shades of magenta and blue, as opposed to Koishi's green and yellow. Cicero started to wonder how many pink haired girls he was going to meet in this life.

"Good day?" Cicero greeted slowly. He couldn't help but account for the cold feeling coming from her eyes. Along with her unwelcoming glare, he could feel an externality knocking at the outsides of his thoughts.

"Koishi," the girl addressed softly, "have you made a new friend while you were away?"

"Mhmm!" She nodded excitedly, "His name's Cicero!"

"Cicero?" she echoed, "That's quite a unique name." Her conversation remained with Koishi, though she continued to stare at Cicero. He waved at her nervously, bearing another crooked smile. "Tell me, sister. Don't you think he looks rather… human?"

Koishi gasped and turned towards Cicero. "You're a human?!"

"Did you think I was a youkai? You must have really strong legs because you jump to conclusions quite a lot!" he retorted.

"He must be rather strong, Koishi," the other girl spoke out. She'd lowered herself to the ground and picked up the same cat with glowing eyes.

"What do you mean?" Koishi turned back to her sister.

"Think about it," she extended her arm, "If he is a human, he must have been quite powerful to survive a trip all the way down here.

Koishi's face brightened with excitement. To Cicero, it felt like a bit too much excitement, even for her. "You're right!" she said before turning back to Cicero, "You must be really strong!"

"Again, jumping to conclusions, though I won't say that you would be right at some given point," Cicero replied worriedly. In a more ideal situation, he wouldn't have hidden his bravado.

"Do you want to fight then?!" Koishi asked eagerly.

Cicero's brows furrowed. "This _is_ going where I think it's going… Hey now!" He was cut short as he barely jumped out of the way of a cluster of projectiles. They rammed into the ground with excessive force, exploding with small plumes of smoke and knocking away his hat. The floor appeared unscathed, however. Cicero looked up and spotted Koishi floating high above him, generating waves of small green and blue orbs in simple patterns. Some didn't fly directly at him; the sheer number of them was his true threat.

Another volley bore flew towards him as he sprinted off to the side. He looked behind him, jumping from the closest ones to him, hoping he wasn't leading himself into another one. The explosive force of each projectile was enough to knock him off balance even after jumping.

At the small pause between the last volley and the next, he hid himself in the kicked up smoke and ran behind a staircase. He briefly closed his eyes and tensed his body for a moment, holding his breath. A second passed and he opened one eye back up before exhaling in disappointment.

"Oh of course they're gone!" he shouted to himself while another volley exploded around him. He huddled himself up to the side of the staircase, attempting to peak around the corner.

"Aww, you can't hide! That's no fun!" Koishi shouted across the foyer. Through the smoke, he could see that she'd lowered herself closer to the floor. Her expression was still as happy as ever.

With an opportunity present, Cicero bolted out from beneath the staircase and sprinted straight for Koishi. Another pattern of blue and green bullets hurdled towards him, forcing him to sidestep from as many as he could, stumbling a few times along the way. Once he was but a few feet away from her, another set of bullets headed towards him. He ducked beneath them and jumped as they hit the floor, the explosions propelling him forward towards Koishi.

"Yeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" he shouted as he delivered a strong kick square into Koishi's ribcage before falling back to the ground. She recoiled slightly from the impact, floating down onto the floor.

Cicero's fall was nearly graceless, landing on one foot and hopping forward a couple times before regaining his balance. He noticed that the projectiles ceased, but as he turned around, a boot met the side of his torso with vicious force.

"FFFFFFFFFFF—!" he bit his lower lip, recoiling in a similar manner. He looked over and found Koishi standing near him in a relaxed fighting stance.

"Heehee, you really are strong!" Koishi commented gleefully. Cicero quickly replied with a punch to her face. While he usually concerned himself with the ethics of violence on a regular basis, he threw away such hindrances in the midst of combat. He attempted to follow up with another kick, but was stopped as Koishi managed to counter his movement with a kick of her own along with a similar punch to Cicero's face. This was why ethics were currently void to him.

"You honestly didn't look like a fighter," Cicero admitted, keeping his guard. Her attacks came quickly, though she only acted out the same moves he had landed on her.

"I'm not!" she replied, throwing another punch, "But I can learn fast!"

Her fist landed in Cicero's palm, and he quickly turned her around, twisting her arm backwards. He could hear her let out a pained squeal. There was a feeling that would look bad on his resume to her sister, though she appeared to be completely fine watching the entire conflict. He released her and swept his leg under her feet, forcing her to float upside down. As she rotated in position, Cicero met her once more with a heavy drop kick to her front. She exhaled forcefully and flew backwards as Cicero fell back to the ground.

Cicero stood up, hopping around in an exaggerated boxing stance. "Come on, show me what you really got!" he shouted. Maintaining her quirky smile, Koishi flew high near the ceiling. A subtle pressure enveloped Cicero's body as Koishi surrounded herself in a brilliant glow. Scores of bluish white lights lined the top of the foyer as a series of large red circles revolved around Koishi. "Oh boy…"

Koishi quickly raised her arms, releasing a torrent of beamlike missiles accompanied by a plethora of crimson bullets fired in every direction. Their trajectories saturated every part of where Cicero was standing, and he scrambled to figure out how to not die. A few made their way to him prematurely, which he barely jumped away from, but as the bulk of the cluster came closer, he eyed the most ideal pocket of space amongst them, and attempted to jump as they slammed into the ground.

The foyer lit up intensely as every bullet and missile dispersed in rapid succession. Cicero's body was flung into the air, reaching the bottom of the third floor before plummeting back to the ground. He was deafened by the massive explosion, but could tell that the projectiles had stopped. He was hoping to be near something to grab onto it, but had no such luck.

How unfortunate, Cicero thought. There would be a few dozen broken bones too many once he reached his destination. He spoke too soon, however, as a series of bright flashes and vibrations emanated beneath him. It didn't stop his fall entirely, but he hit the ground softly enough to retain his skeleton, landing with a heavy grunt.

"I hate being human," he grumbled. The massive plumes of smoke from Koishi's attack began to dissipate, and he could see her floating in the same spot she was, though something was different. Looking closely, she appeared incredibly dazed, her face looking exhausted as she lost altitude. Eventually, she broke into a freefall, diving head first towards the floor.

Cicero grimaced as he pushed his aching body forward towards Koishi. His landing positioned him close enough to sprint towards her. While his bones remained intact, countless bruises were felt along his body. He wasn't used to such damage to his person in such a long time—maybe his old life spoiled him a bit.

He groaned with every stride he took, trying to get within catching distance. Suppressing the pain as much as he could, Cicero leapt forward, extending his arms out. He'd overshot just slightly, causing Koishi's head to run straight into his back. He grunted once, then a second time as they both struck the ground. He followed up with a long, pained groan.

"Can I just go to sleep now? Can I just die?" he moaned. As he quieted down, he could hear Koishi breathing softly on top of him, her diaphragm gently rising and lowering. "You fell asleep?! Ow…"

Cicero laid there for a few minutes, coping with his recollection of what pain felt like. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he could feel utter soreness on every inch of his nervous system. Not only was he vulnerable, but his "reincarnated" body felt completely out of practice. His muscles felt as if they would tear from any other movement; his shins were practically made of glass while his ears leaked blood onto the tiles.

Eventually, he felt the weight of Koishi's body lighten from his back. He could hear a series of ravens squawking and flapping their wings. As his back was completely free of obstruction, he rolled over, watching several birds lift up Koishi and whisk her off into a corridor. Cicero laid down alone for a moment until the red eyed cat approached him. It sniffed his hair as the other girl followed behind, standing next to Cicero's torso.

"I don't suppose you have any ibuprofen?" Cicero asked wearily.

"I'm not quite sure what that is, I'm afraid, but I can help." She said kneeling down next to him. Her hands waved over his body as a subtle glow enveloped him for a moment. His soreness hadn't disappeared, but was reduced enough for him to be able to stand. "Please forgive me. I'm terrible at healing magic."

"Magic, magic, magic…" Cicero muttered to himself. He stood up slowly from the ground, grimacing at the bruises that still existed. He took a few deep breaths, resting his hands on his knees before pointing at the girl. "You did that on purpose," he accused.

"Excuse me?" she asked quietly.

"If you hadn't said I was a human… she never would have fought me… right…?" Cicero panted.

"Yes, that's correct," she answered.

"And if you knew that… then you _wanted_ her… to fight me…"

"Perhaps."

"If you could… be so kind as to tell me… why I deserve such treatment… I would be delighted…" He slowly regained his composure, though still exhausted.

"I understand why you would be upset. Please understand, I was only taking a precaution," she responded.

Cicero looked back at her. Her gaze was much warmer than it was before, but her floating eye was twitchy, looking at him with sporadic movements, as if desperately searching for something. All the while, he could still feel something picking at his head. "How does precaution warrant your tossing me into a life or death fight?"

"Please forgive me," she said apologetically, "There's a certain quality about you which…bothered me. Even now I'm a bit hesitant to speak at this distance." She picked up the red eyed cat and stroked its head. "I was led to believe this anomaly was related to your magical power, though clearly I was wrong."

"You can't read my mind?" Cicero guessed.

She looked at him with sudden surprise. "How did you know I—"

"Your sister told me you could. That's why she brought me here," he explained, "Besides, I've had experience with mind readers. I guess they just can't tap into my crazy little mind." He began to pace around the room slowly. "Tell me, what do you see when you tried to read my thoughts?"

She was silent for a moment before she explained. "Usually, a person's thoughts are clear to me. Their memories and emotions are easy to organize and look at. When I look at you, however, I see… images. Bits and pieces of your thoughts and memories, but they scatter around. One scene does not follow logically to the next. And… your thoughts , when I can piece certain portions together, are incredibly violent."

"Which is why you took 'precaution,'" Cicero acknowledged.

The girl nodded. "I'm curious about something else, as well."

"Before we continue," Cicero interrupted, "I would like to clarify a few aspects of this conversation."

"Of course."

"First, could you calm down? I'm only unnecessarily violent _half_ the time," he stopped pacing and put his hands in his pockets. "Besides, I don't even possess my old abilities, evidently. If I was a problem, I'd imagine all you would need to do is vaporize me or something of the sort, correct? Especially now, I'm too weak to put up another fight."

The girl nodded again.

"Second," he moved closer to her. She stepped back once, but held her position, likely attempting to maintain her courtesy. "I've done a great deal of things, but I am not a mind reader. Could you tell me your name?"

"Oh, how rude of me," she responded genuinely, "I've yet to introduce myself. I am Satori Komeiji, Mistress of the Palace of the Earth Spirits."

"A pleasure meeting you," he said affably, gently shaking her hand. "My god I'm so sore I can barely move my arms."

"Perhaps you would like to rest before we continue our discussion?" Satori asked, smiling.

"That would be absolutely lovely," Cicero paused, "I think I'm about to collapse." He put his hands on her shoulders, his grip heavy. "Pardon me," he said, trying not to stumble over. Soon he regained his balance and stood on his own.

"I'd be happy to oblige." She led him down a long corridor on the second floor, opposite the side Koishi was taken into. The red eyed cat followed closely behind. The walls were decorated with various objects conflicting with the cultural nature of the rest of the city. Whilst the Underworld retained its feudal aura, the palace in its entirety felt like a completely foreign concept in comparison. He eyed various shields and suits of armor—typical arrangements of castles he'd come across, though these felt more authentic. The checkered floor was replaced with soft carpeting bearing similar dark colors along with the raven symbol inserted into the design. The hall itself, while significantly smaller than the main corridor, was still expansive.

"I had a question," Cicero chimed in as they walked.

"Mmm?"

"Did you see how far up I was tossed on Koishi's final volley?" He kept his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, actually. I was impressed that you flew high enough to reach the third floor," Satori responded.

"So I really was that high up," he muttered before returning to Satori. "A human couldn't have just walked away from a fall like that. I felt something explode beneath me."

"Oh?"

"Koishi's volley was over as far as I could tell, yet something slowed my fall."

"How perceptive," Satori smiled, "I provided a small shot of my own in hopes that you would survive. I had no intention of killing you, only evaluating you."

"I see."

They continued down the hall until Satori stopped near a small door. "This is one of our guest rooms. You can recuperate in here," Satori said.

Cicero turned the handle and walked through. It was a spacious bedroom with a small bathroom off to the side. He walked in and checked the toilet. It was a normal, boring toilet. "Huh, and here I thought you wouldn't have plumbing." He turned back to Satori, who stood at the doorway, the cat on her shoulder. "This'll do. I'm going to collapse somewhere over there," he pointed over to the canvassed bed.

"Well then, I shall not disturb you," she bowed slightly, "You can come find me after you have rested."

Satori left, the door shutting behind her. Cicero let out an exhausted sigh and looked around the room. It was dark, as the candles on the wall weren't lit. He found a match and lit a single candle on a nearby table, not bothering with the rest. Quickly taking off his glove again, he felt the surface of the table.

"Oh yeah, that's mahogany," he mused.

There was a pair of windows at the opposite wall, overlooking the city. The snowfall had increased slightly, and now a modest blanket covered the pathways and rooftops of the city. He pulled the curtains over the windows and took off his boots, resting his cap on the table. There was a small wardrobe near the bed, which he opened and immediately grimaced at.

"It's all women's clothes," Cicero grumbled, closing the wardrobe. He shut his eyes for a moment, imagining himself in male sleepwear; opening his eyes, he was still in his military uniform. "Screw it, I'm sleeping in this."

He threw himself onto the bed; his eyelids slid shut within seconds. Before he could fall asleep, however, he could hear the sounds of low ambient grumbling. An exasperated groan left him as he opened his eyes back up. "You couldn't even wait for me to get some sleep, could you?" He sat up next to the headboard, looking at the youkai standing half inside a gap.

"You're going too slow," Yukari stated with a stoic expression.

"It's been literally a couple of hours. You don't expect me to find her overnight, do you?" Cicero asked, getting back into a relaxed position in the bed. "Besides, your directions are absolutely absurd. You expect me not to be able to solve this problem on my own, yet you want me to keep the entire operation clandestine so that it doesn't stir up commotion. Tell me, how am I supposed to get help when I can't tell them _what I need help with?!_"

"That's for you to figure out," Yukari responded.

"Oh for the love of— You know, I could skip all of this if you told me where she was. It'd make both our lives a hell of a lot easier."

Yukari's eyes narrowed. "An Archaean is causing this crisis, ergo, an Archaean will resolve it."

"Then, sit back and relax, sister!" Cicero exclaimed, "It's going to take a long damn time if you're not going to help me. Or, hell, you could do it yourself if you're _really_ in a rush. So, pick your poison. Let me do it, and you don't have to lift a finger. I'll find her, but I'll do it the way I feel like it—which usually involves hurting a lot of people…" his expression darkened. "Or you can pick up my slack. And I can just take a long vacation down here."

Yukari sighed. "Just get the job done at some point."

"Come on now. That couldn't have been the only reason you dragged your butt all the way down here. What do you got for me, mastermind?" Cicero started jumping on the bed.

"You were struggling in that fight," she commented, remaining cross-armed in her gap.

"Would you like fries with that understatement? I'm starting to get the feeling you didn't understand me when I said _all my wonderful abilities have disappeared_. Well, not all, evidently…"

"You still have something?" Yukari questioned.

Cicero shook his head. "Not necessarily. I used to deal with abstraction. Even when my body can't operate the functions, it's still associated with its concepts. You should consider yourself lucky. Had I not had my grasp on perception, that mind reader would have seen right through me. Anyways…" he shifted once more in his bed. "What is it about my horrid mortality that puts you off?"

Yukari paused before she answered. "Gensokyo is saturated with powerful beings. You'll never make progress in your current state. And that was a short battle. A _very_ short battle."

"Then help me, genius!" he jumped off the bed and waved his arms in front of Yukari. "Your never-ending philosophy of _lazy_ is what's giving you problems, not me."

"You're getting to know me so well," Yukari retorted with a smile.

"Guuuuuh…." Cicero groaned, falling on his back and bouncing once on the mattress, "Just get out of my room so I can sleep."

A brief silence hung between them for a moment, lasting long enough for Cicero to think she actually left. The grumbling of the gap still made its presence clear, however. "Whatever your method is, I hope you don't wait until Hell freezes over." With that, silence returned to the room, the ambient grumbling having ceased as well.

"Thank goodness," he whispered to himself. He quickly grabbed a pillow and flung it at the candle on the table, knocking the light out. Hopefully the damn thing wouldn't catch fire.

**_[Author's Note]_**

**_I previously stated that my update schedule would consist of either every SUnday or at least once every couple weeks. As you can see, I have failed both. So, I've decided to state this instead. The next time I update, whenever that is, I will be posting 7 full chapters-one for each day of that week starting on a Sunday. At least then you can have the updates in bulk and not wait around for my poorly timed ass to show itself again._**

**_Anyways, a tiny chapter this week, folks. Next one's going to have a bit more beef. And with a side of miko._**


End file.
